As every new day passes, we draw closer to the 22nd season of the world cup tournament, a competition birthed 93 years ago with a vision to unify nations. Over the years, we have seen the tournament and the sport itself, metamorphosed into instrumental tools which have proved useful in increasing international cultural appreciation and tourism.
Without much talk, let's dig in!!!
GROUP C TEAMS
ARGENTINA
Agreeably the most successful team in this group and also one of the most successful in the world. They are the defending champions of the Copa America Cup and have held the title 15 times, alongside Uruguay. They last won the World cup in 1986 and were 2nd place in the Brazil 2014 World Cup. Ranked 2nd in the world and filled with world-class players like Lionel Messi, Angel de Maria, Lisandro Martinez, Nicholas Otamendi, Paulo Dybala, etc., they are favorites to top this group and as well progress far in this competition.
SAUDI ARABIA
Their most successful run in a world cup competition was in 1994 when they scaled through to the round of 16. The 3 times Asian Cup and 3 times Arabian Gulf Cup winners are ranked 51st in the world and have 98% of the squad playing club football in the Saudi Professional League, the top tier of professional league football in Saudi Arabia.
MEXICO
Ranked 13th in the world, they are one of the few countries to have had the most World Cup appearances but made it to the quarter-finals only on two occasions. Up to 70% of the squad plays club football at the top league in Mexico while the rest, such as Wolverhampton's Raul Jiminez and Ajax's Edson Alvarez play in international leagues. They are an in-form team and will prove to be a tough competition in the group stage.
POLAND
Their biggest strides in the World Cup competition were 3rd place in 1974 and 1982, respectively. The white and red eagles' most recent international stride was being a quarter-finalist in the EURO 2016 competition, ranking them 26th in the world. With veterans like Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, Juventus' Wojciech Szczesny, and Westham's Lukasz Fabianski, they have the right amount of experience and professionalism to scale through.
GROUP D TEAMS
AUSTRALIA
Ranked 38th in the world, their best run in any world cup competition was the round of 16 of the Germany 2006 world cup. You might not be wrong to say they are one of the unsuccessful teams in world cup competitions in the group. Also, being an underdog, one might not know what they have got under their sleeves. They currently do not have any known and recognized names in their squad.
DENMARK
After getting to the quarter-final stage of the 1998 world cup, the Dutch struggled to reach that level as they were always knocked out in the round of 16 or group stages. With top players like in-form Man United’s Christian Eriksen, Barcelona’s Andreas Christensen, AC Milan’s Simon Kjaer, etc., it is no surprise that they are 10th in the world. They have got a balanced team but let’s see if they will achieve a new world cup record for themselves this time around.
FRANCE
They are defending champions of the world and last held this title in 1998. They are currently placed 4th in the world. Players to look out for in this squad include Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Camavinga, PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, Rb Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku, and the rest of them. They are a balanced squad and should be looked out for.
TUNISIA
Holding the title of the 2004 champions of Africa, the Carthage Eagles have been able to feature in the world cup only 6 times and haven’t progressed beyond the group stage in any of them. Although they have a fairly internationally known player like former red, Hannibal Mejbri, they still sit in the 30th position in the world, and honestly, it will be difficult group-stage fixtures for them.
GROUP E TEAMS
COSTA RICA
Their best run in a world cup competition was in 2014 when they got to the quarter-final stage and have made 6 world cup appearances so far. It might be a tough one for them to scale beyond this group, looking at the kinds of teams they will have to compete with. They are ranked 31st in the world.
GERMANY
The 2018 world cup saw the 4 times World champions and 3 times European Champions exit the competition in the group stage. That was a very bad result for the defending champions of the world at the time. Well, since they are in the same group as Spain who faced a similar situation the preceding season, they can be sure to get a bit of a pep talk from them. They are currently 11th in the world and have top players in their squad (I can’t even start listing them out there). Let’s see if they can prove to the world this time around how a big team the records say they are.
SPAIN
The 3 times Champions of Europe and 1-time Champions of the World are ranked 7th in the world currently and are one of the favorites to progress to the round of 16 and hopefully beyond. The players in this squad all play in top clubs in Spain, France, England, and Italy. To be honest, I see no reason why they should not do well.
JAPAN
The Samurais are ranked 24th in the world and are arguably one the most successful Asian sides with a good number of their squad players playing top-flight football in top leagues in Europe. They hold the title of the 4 times champion of Asia in 1992. 2002, 2004, and 2011, respectively. They are known for their rugged style of football and will prove to be the underdog of the group.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN 🏆
